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STF nabs TNLA chief Maran

In a not wholly unexpected development that has wider ramifications, the Special Task Force personnel have reportedly nabbed Maran, the brain behind the abduction of Dr Rajakumar.

According to reports from Coimbatore, Maran surrendered when cornered by the STF personnel in the Siruvani forest area on Wednesday night.

While confirming the efficacy of the STF operations, Maran's arrest also nails criticism that sandalwood smuggler Veerappan may have fled the coup, or that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan government has been making false claims on the possibility of his imminent arrest.

The STF reportedly encountered Veerappan a fortnight back and the announcement on Maran's arrest now confirms that the government was not making empty talk.

Maran, leader of the Tamil Nationalist Liberation Army, was the brain behind Dr Rajakumar's abduction, giving a pan-Tamil twist to the Rajakumar abduction, going beyond the ransom demands generally attaching to Veerappan's style of kidnapping.

If the idea was to generate an anti-Tamil backlash in Karnataka, which in turn would have generated a like revulsion in Tamil Nadu, then it was not to be.

The Tamil Nadu government, after initial hesitation, has now approached the Centre for declaring a ban on the TNLA and also the splinter Tamil Nationalist Retrieval Force, which was also involved in the Rajakumar abduction episode.

With Maran's arrest, the Tamil Nadu police now hopes to crack the new-found ideological twist in Veerappan's campaign. Maran's capture may turn out to be a much-needed morale-booster for the Tamil Nadu police force.

Maran's arrest may also give credence to the impression that the STF was acting with its 'hands tied to the back' during and prior to Rajakumar's abduction.

With Prime Minister A B Vajpayee scheduled to visit Coimbatore on Friday, Maran's arrest comes as a feather in the cap for the ruling combine, of which the DMK is the major partner.

With no other issue in sight, Maran's arrest is certain to be trumpeted by the ruling DMK in the coming assembly elections.

It also shows what concerted co-ordination between the STFs of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, on the one hand, and the Border Security Force and central intelligence, on the other, could achieve.

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The Rajakumar kidnap episode

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